From the category archives:

Economy

Will Financial Reform Make It?

June 30, 2010

The House or Representatives has approved the financial reform bill by a vote of 237-192.  Nancy Pelosi corraled enough votes to get the bill through the House.  The real question is if the Senate can vote for the financial reform bill. It was easy enough in the House — sorta — because there were enough [...]

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Capitalism Without Bankruptcy is Like Christianity Without Hell

January 13, 2010

Kyle Hayes made the best statement of the day when he spoke about banks that are too big to fail.  His answer was simply that capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell.  Hayes was joined by Peter Solomon and another during the afternoon session of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. The morning session was [...]

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Happy New Year to GMAC

December 30, 2009

Well, just when we have been hearing so much about the economic recovery it seems that all is not well with GMAC.  The economic turmoil that kept the financial system in chaos during 2009 created the “need” for GMAC to receive $12.5 Billion in government funds.  These funds came in the form of direct aid [...]

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Credit Card Interest Rates Up to 79.9%

December 22, 2009
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Remember when the Senate set out to help consumers with all that small print on their credit card statements and contracts?  And, what a fine job they did! During the past few months even the better credit risk credit card holders have seen their interest rates soar to 29.9%.  Others have seen their credit limits [...]

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Health Care Reform Helps the Economy, at Least Health Care Stocks

December 21, 2009
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Not one to wish any more misfortune on the American people, but we know we are screwed when health care stocks — health care insurers and pharmacy benefit manager stocks — are on the rise following Step 1 in the Senate’s race to health care reform. The economy is on everyones mind.  We are all awaiting [...]

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Alistair Darling Slaps Tax on Brit Bankers

December 9, 2009
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As much as none of us really want to walk down memory lane to the Wall Street bailout, it is worth going back in time for a few minutes.  Remember TARP?  And now we have a compensation czar for those banks who received TARP funding. Well, during all the testimony on Capitol Hill when all [...]

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Dubai Debt: A Foundation Built of Sand

November 27, 2009
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It seems that the old saying about building on sand is holding true.  Dubai has asked to put off their debt payments to creditors until May.  Dubai owes some $60 Billion to its creditors. Of course, Dubai has become the playground for the rich and famous… and some infamous as well.  Taking advantage of the [...]

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What Consumer Protection? The Credit Card Farce

November 25, 2009

Remember the old joke about the three biggest lies in the world?  It started with “I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you.”  I will leave it to your memory to come up with the other two.  Well, perhaps we now have the fourth greatest lie… consumer protection from credit card banks. For those who [...]

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Timothy Geithner Grilled and Drilled by Congress

November 20, 2009

Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, was grilled and drilled by Congress reflecting the frustration of its members over the state of the economy.  In another country I feel most certain that Geithner could have been physically attacked.  It seems that everyone has his knickers in a twist. Congressional members bombarded Geithner with hard luck [...]

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The Great American Stress Test

May 6, 2009

It is called the bank stress test, but in truth it is the American stress test.  Some banks reportedly need to raise more capital.  American families need more capital to stay afloat, too.  The real stress test is whether Americans who are feeling the real pinch in this economic crisis are willing to keep the [...]

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